Sustainability Victoria is responsible for planning for Victoria’s waste and resource recovery system at a statewide level. Central to Victoria’s integrated approach, is our 30-year roadmap – the Statewide Waste and Resource Recovery Infrastructure Plan (SWRRIP).

SV works closely with the seven regional Waste and Resource Recovery Groups, responsible for complementary Regional Implementation Plans, to ensure that we achieve change at a state, regional and local level and maximise our impact.

Statewide Waste and Resource Recovery Infrastructure Plan

The Statewide Waste and Resource Recovery Infrastructure Plan (SWRRIP) is prepared by Sustainability Victoria on behalf of the Victorian Government. It is a central component of Victoria’s Waste and Resource Recovery Infrastructure Planning Framework and Victoria’s integrated approach to waste and recycling.

First published in 2015, the SWRRIP is the first of its kind in Australia to provide a long-term vision and roadmap to guide future planning for waste and resource recovery infrastructure in the state.

The vision of the Statewide Waste and Resource Recovery Infrastructure Plan is to develop an integrated statewide waste and resource recovery system that continues to provide an essential community service.

The SWRRIP was republished in April 2018. The amendments reflect the Regional Implementation Plans, government policy and provide clearer guidance for decision-makers and respond to feedback from the consultation period. The SWRRIP, an overview - SWRRIP at a glance, and FAQs are available.

2017 Consultation

SV heard from a range of stakeholders during the 2017 consultation period. This feedback was invaluable to inform the final SWRRIP. The Consultation Report outlines what we heard and how this informed the final SWRRIP. SV would like to thank all who contributed.

Implementing the Statewide Waste and Resource Recovery Infrastructure Plan

Implementing the SWRRIP involves many stakeholders, including state government agencies, local government, waste and resource recovery businesses and industry that remanufactures and uses recycled material.

The SWRRIP identifies key actions for the Victorian Government, including:

• Guidance and programs for local government and industry to increase resource recovery and operate to best practice
• Land use planning for waste and resource recovery infrastructure
• Information on proven and emerging technologies

The Statewide Waste and Resource Recovery Infrastructure Plan's complementary initiatives for the next 5–10 years are illustrated in the diagram.

Resource Recovery Funding

The Victorian Government regularly releases funding programs to support resource recovery. Check out our Grants and Funding section to see available rounds and learn about recent funding announcements.

Regional implementation

The SWRRIP is being implemented in collaboration with Victoria’s seven regional Waste and Resource Recovery Groups. The seven Regional Implementation Plans enable the statewide goals to be achieved consistent with local priorities.

Each Regional Implementation Plan contains an infrastructure schedule. An outline of the Statewide Waste and Resource Recovery Infrastructure Scheduling process is available here

Learn more about the Regional Waste and Resource Recovery Implementation Plans

Resource recovery technologies 

Increasing the recovery of valuable resources will rely on a mix of existing and emerging technologies. Understanding these technologies enables informed decision-making about what can be achieved and what may or may not be suitable.

The Resource Recovery Technology Guide provides an overview of resource recovery technologies which will be useful for readers who have a general understanding of resource recovery and waste processing technologies. The Resource recovery technology guide is complementary to the Biological recovery of organics guide. It does not include all reprocessing technologies; however further technologies may be researched and published by Sustainability Victoria in future.

The Guide is aimed at project developers, operators, council officers and elected members, waste generators, planners, regulators, investors, and the general community who may be involved in, or have an interest in:

• learning about the characteristics of different material processing technologies
• understanding how waste can be recovered and the challenges involved
• assessing technology options and planning future infrastructure
• developing new resource recovery infrastructure
• upgrading existing facilities with more advanced technologies
• specifying and procuring facilities and services
• approving and regulating resource recovery facilities
• investing in or financing resource recovery projects.

This guide is intended to provide initial information; Sustainability Victoria recommends that decision-makers undertake further investigations as needed.

We will update this guide as needed. For any questions contact swrrip@sustainability.vic.gov.au

Reporting on progress

SV monitors the implementation of the SWRRIP through a monitoring and evaluation plan. It includes a suite of indicators to assess the performance of the SWRRIP.

SV has completed the first round of evaluation and developed the SWRRIP Progress Report – June 2015 to July 2017.

The Report provides high level information about how we are progressing towards achieving the SWRRIP’s goals. It includes:

• Key activities and achievements of the Victorian Government since July 2015 until June 2017.
• Facts and figures reported by local government and industry about what was happening on the ground with planning for, and managing, infrastructure and services in the 2015-16 financial year.

The information in this Report will also be used as a baseline to measure changes and trends over time so we can evaluate the effectiveness of the SWRRIP and how it may be impacting the waste and resource recovery sector. It will also be used to inform Victorian Government program planning.